fbpx

Capital Times: UW-Madison expands Summer Term to help students

This year, students attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Summer Term have more course choices than ever before, according to the Capital Times article “Summer Learnin.’” It’s part of a university initiative to help students advance their degrees, graduate on time, and save money.

Sarah Barber: 'We are getting more nimble at addressing student needs.'
Sarah Barber: ‘We are getting more nimble at addressing student needs.’

“We are getting more nimble at addressing student needs,” says Sarah Barber, assistant dean of the Division of Continuing Studies and director of Summer Term.

Barber tells the Capital Times that UW-Madison is making a concerted effort to identify high-demand courses—the ones that are hard to get into during fall and spring semesters—and offer them in the summer. Anatomy, for example, appeared on the summer schedule for the first time this year and attracted more than 100 students.

Of this summer’s 71 new courses, 47 are online. Online summer enrollment has more than tripled since 2012, to 5,166.

Barber says online courses give students the option of participating anytime, and from anywhere. That makes it easy for students to fit them into busy summer schedules.

To make Summer Term more accessible students, UW-Madison offered $250,000 in scholarships this year, a tenfold increase from 2015. The Capital Times reports that 228 students received scholarships, ranging from $500 to $1,500.

“Summer Term offers tremendous value to students,” says Jeffrey S. Russell, dean of Continuing Studies and vice provost for lifelong learning. “The additional scholarships will allow more undergraduates take advantage of it.”